Chapter 31: The Ascension Spiral of the Arcane Spire“Initializing convergence: formation of auxiliary elemental cores to house foreign mana lattices… Completed.”“Leyline siphoning: enabled. Automatic absorption of free-flowing ether initiated.”Elias inhaled deeply, drawing in the sacred breath of the Arcane Spire. The air vibrated with strange purity—thick with raw, effervescent mana seeping out from the Tower’s foundation like the blood of a slumbering god. As that mythic mist coiled around him, he allowed his body to soak in every drop.A cluster of four infinitesimal aetheric cores shimmered into being around his primary elemental core. They pulsed gently—forming like crystalline embryos, spinning in sacred geometry beneath his skin.Lightning mana struck his nerves like a thousand whispering needles; a dancing static across his body’s inner weave. Poison mana, by contrast, twisted through him like acid-churned embers gnawing his lungs. Yet the pain was not pain—it was revelatio

Chapter 32: The Gambler’s Grimoire – Grifting Mages for SpellsThe spiral staircase, carved from translucent rune-glass and hovering slightly above the floor as though resisting gravity itself, wound downward like a coiled serpent. Elias descended it alone, drawn by the fevered noise rising from below. The air was thick with tension, crackling not with mana—but with mental warfare.He hadn’t braved a soul-crushing four-hour ride in a magically-dampened carriage to the cesspit of Falconridge just to watch glorified nerds slap wood across a table.He came for spells—ancient, sacred, violent spells.But the only thing being hurled in the Arcane Spire today were pawns.“Haha! Checkmate, I win!” a nasally voice rang out like a church bell of idiocy.A lanky mage in dark robes rose in triumph, his bespectacled face glowing with pride. His opponent slumped away, shoulders hunched in shame, leaving behind an air of defeat and a half-finished cup of mana-brew.Elias eyed the victor, stepping t

Chapter 34 – The Ember Crown and the Apprentice's GambitBy now, the once-quiet sanctum of Falconridge’s Magic Tower had become a storm of murmurs and echoing footsteps. Word had spread like arcane wildfire—a boy barely five summers old was dismantling trained spellcasters in a battle of minds, not with incantations or mana, but with pieces of carved ivory on a checkered board. One mage whispered to another, and soon the second floor of the Tower’s great library had transformed into a cauldron of spectators—alchemists, summoners, enchanters, even rune-scrawled golems leaned in to observe the unfolding legend.“He’s just a kid,” someone whispered. “How the fuck is he outplaying them like this?”But then the atmosphere shifted. A figure moved through the crowd—not by force, but by absence. Wherever he walked, space was made, not out of respect, but reverence. His beard trailed down like a silver river over velvet robes, and his tall white hat crowned him like a priest-king from an age w

Chapter 35 – The Celestial Library and the Tower Master's OathWith a slow exhale and a smile carved by defeat, Seberus Augindore, Tower Master of Falconridge and Warden of Flame, rested his gnarled hand upon the chessboard and tipped his King in resignation.“I see no paths left for survival,” he said, the flames in his eyes dimming, though not from bitterness. “You win, Elias Holloway.”A hush swept the room once more. There was no shout, no cheer—just stunned reverence. The Tower Master, the ancient archmage who had defeated lords and liches, bowed before a five-year-old.For a long moment, Seberus studied the boy—not just with his eyes, but with his spirit, his mana, and something deeper. Something sacred.He had heard rumors—tales whispered like gospel. That the Holloway child had summoned water from rock without spellcraft, constructed mechanisms to track time without enchantment, and conjured warmth into their manor’s gardens with a natural spring. All inventions that defied ma

Chapter 37: The Spell That Defied Stars—Resonance Within the Living Ether—---If Nexus-2’s words held true… then Elias had just acquired the most outrageously broken spellcrafting ability in the history of arcane civilization.A thought sparked in his mind like a sigil bursting into life.Nexus-2… does my Supreme Skill allow me to control mana that doesn't belong to me?A pause—brief but charged with computational tension.—Affirmative. You now possess the authority to influence ambient mana and even the mana circulating within other beings. The degree of manipulation possible is directly proportional to the difference in spell mastery and mana command between you and the target.Elias blinked slowly, his breath catching in his throat.So I can hijack someone’s spell mid-cast… or reverse it? Force it to turn on the caster?—Correct. Reverse flow manipulation and external mana disruption are within your operational range, so long as the relative arcane resistance of the target does n